In Wisconsin’s Central Sands, stretches of the Little Plover River have gone dry in past years. Some people have blamed high-capacity wells, while others cite changing land use, climate change, or natural weather patterns.

To evaluate the effects of different stresses on the river, the WGNHS and the U.S. Geological Survey developed a groundwater flow model. This state-of-the-art tool demonstrates the scientific relationships between groundwater, lakes and streams, and high-capacity wells. The model allows users to test different ways of managing groundwater in the Central Sands.

(Project commissioned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.)

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On April 12, 2016, Ken Bradbury of the Wisconsin Geological Survey and Mike Fienen of the U.S. Geological Survey presented the results of a multi-year project developing a groundwater model for the Little Plover River basin. View the full video.